Field Period Confirms Broadcast Career for Josh Mead

Josh Mead, a Keuka College junior from Hilton, had already done a good deal of career planning by the seventh grade.

Having an interest in sports, the young Mead wanted to be a broadcaster or sports journalist. Like many broadcasters and writers, Mead played sports in high school. He was a bowler and played baseball and has continued playing baseball in college—he’s a pitcher for the Storm.

“I decided to transfer [from SUNY Brockport] to Keuka for the baseball program,” said Mead. “But I also liked Keuka’s organizational communication program. I thought I could get the business aspects of broadcasting through classes while getting the hands-on experience with Field Period.”

And he was right. Thanks to a suggestion by his work-study supervisor, Sports Information Director John Boccacino, the organizational communication major pursued his January Field Period at WFLR radio in Dundee.

“I knew the passion Josh had for sports and for journalism, and I thought he could learn a lot about the radio industry by doing his Field Period withLucas Day [WFLR's news and sports director],” said Boccacino. “Josh has a great mind for sports and knows how to tell a good story. I envisioned him contributing to the station’s day-to-day operations and assisting with live sports broadcasts.”

And that is exactly what Mead did.

“During my Field Period, I was able to do play-by-play and color commentary for Penn Yan and Dundee high school boy’s and girl’s basketball games with Lucas,” said Mead.

Mead introduced some new features into the broadcasts: key player, key match-up, and key play of the game.

“Lucas loved it and to me, it made the broadcast feel more like something you might hear on ESPN radio,” said Mead.

Day said Mead was a quick study.

“I can’t say enough about how prepared he was,” said Day. “Within a week, he was editing, recording, and producing on air. For him to step in and get on the air is a testament to his skill level and what he is learning in his Keuka classes. Josh displayed tremendous communication knowledge and carried himself well. I have always been impressed with Keuka College students and how well prepared they are when they come into an internship.”

While Mead was familiar with basketball, he admits to being nervous about trying to figure out when to interject his take on the game, “but once I did, it was a lot of fun.”

No stranger to radio broadcasting, Mead hosted a three-hour show at Brockport that included a two-minute sports recap each hour, “and because of that experience, I wasn’t nervous being on the radio at WFLR,” he said.

Among Mead’s other duties was converting live broadcasts from an MP3 format to a Windows Media Audio (WMA) format and then uploading it to the station’s website.

“This Field Period really confirmed that broadcasting is the career field for me,” said Mead.